Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1887-05-12

a grMH PERFORMANCES on a 0KxAE wozK.
Il Wss . very IsrRs auais3es tkat
gathered Of FfJs's 0psra House last
evsnIne. Favorable REPORTS preceded
Lewis Mogrisou's coming and ths result
wns that peopIe tarned out 10 crowds.
A TIE rise Of the enKtsin nsaFiy every
asas 10 paFqastte, dress circle and gal
fery was tAksn, and later on the sizs Of
The gathering Gas measured only By the
aapaaisy Of shs house. IL Vas q FspFs-
sentative audianes and thfoaghout it
vas 10 be sser Q large member Of
ladies and Sentlsmen iH0minsn, 10
GsassIe society. The audisoFs we're net
oVef-eush1aiaaiic, bat tkeT seemed %
appreciate ahe hnsr passages Of the plsy
and insisted that the e1rtsin Be raised
Q second time at the end Of the foarth
cot.
Il vas no ordinary undertaking. TO
pFspaFs Faust" for the stage. Han
dreds Of plays Of crest merit have been
written, never 20 be perforated. some
Of HbakesPeaFe's finest thoughts are
embodied 10 the lines of those works
whiah hsvs never been pat into the
haDds Of stage artists for presentation.
The fact IL they are too oambsrsoms.
There is 10 them toe m1eh philosophical
Dialogue and prolonged e0nvefsasisn.
and TOO little action. Even those which
are usually given By tFsQedians, snch rs
sOshello," 81 Lear" " Richard Ill.," and
OtheFa, are bat adaptati0ns-fhs plays
nboiied down" 10 meet the FfqsiFe-
uaenta Of q three honF performances.
So Il II with Faust" To read the work
e. the author wrote IL would require an
al. night sitting. How disasait, then,
vas the task Of winnowsng cut the
gems Of the piece 10 present them with
she story and aCti00 sustained and al
broken A German professor onoe
remarked 10 us that be had
beoD reading "Raust" for thirty years.
and yet did Eos pretend 10 comprehend
u ell. We NAV infer, therefore. the
magnitude Of the work accomplished
By Bayle Bernard IN appresiatingly
adopting the piay 10 the needs Of the
EneIlsh speaking stage. he hss sue
oeeded admirably, however, the version
having been received with the highest
oommendation Ia London and the Z sst
a. being essentially faithful 10 the ideas
conveyed BY the text OF the German
poet. Tue interest In the . rformanos
last evening vas greatly enhanced By
she deftly managed scenic elects. Tue
square Of Nuremberg and the garden
scene we're both handsome sets. Bat
tbe pisturs Of night FevelFy on the sum
mis- Of the Broken vas uhat called for
the hesFtiest approval from those prt-
sent. Unfortunately II vas impossible
10 DEE calcium lights by which the
weird effects would have been greatly
increased. and. therefore, the scene may
not have bean 20 startling ss many ex-
peoted. However, the burning ef red
hre. the fitting Of ghosts, demons, bats
and strange, unearthlv things, t0zstl 2
With the fantastic action OF the d.
Kena Of the place, made the specsl
sufficiently "devilish" 10 suit tbs to
Of most people.
Mr.. Morrison was the life Of the play.
Msphisto stands out prominently from
the rest OF the east. Bernard intention
ally. it would seem, mskinR tie devil
intFude himself ut the expense OF the
other characters. No. Morrison looked
the ideal lieutenant Of bis satanic ma
issty. His form, face, feature. carriage
and gesture were all In harmony With
bis conception Of the role. Whether
that conception Ia the correct one no
man can tell. Every soior who essays
The character must do 9 0wn spsenltt
ing when searching fer the tFaits aud
Qualities that Distinguish Mephisto. He
may be a creature Wh@se every look,
word. movement aud idea IL cruel, re.
pulsive or disbslioal, or he may be the
suave. tnsina ttiug. condesoenciBg, yet
ever hendIsh, individual we saw last
evening. Perhaps the latter portrayal Is
the ous TO DO accepted; certainly 1t
would seem as thoaRh . being with
the attributes OF Mr.. MoFTiaon's
Mephisto could accom- lish more devil
try In this world than QUE with more
EepelIant and fewer o0mpanionsbls
characteristics. BE that as it may, Mr..
Morrison presents bis idea of the part
with eonsummale flash aud great con
sistency. His facial expressions are full
Of meaning. The look in Tepose. the
sardobio smile, the moosiBg laugh, Cd
significant leeE, we're all appropriate
and well assumed. His elocn,iOn was
excellent, the lines being delivered
clearly, distinctly aud With an evident
appreciation of the thought conveyed in
them. aud with an accent and intona-
tion that beepeaks long and faithful
study Of the part.
The support was good. Miss RosAbel
Morrison acts the paFt Of the unfoftu-
nate Marguerite with mach feeliBg,
Her representation was foil of quiet
modeAty and tenderness. The love
scenes we're done with an innocence
quite becoming the poor. gentle creature
shat she vas. Mr.. Hos nsF did not
make Faust" With when We thick
most girls would fall madly
IN love, and his acting was a little heavy
at irst. Toward the latter part Of the
performance he improved, however, and
In the las, two acts did some WORK that
vas gate eommendAble. Miss Car
rte Carter was good az Martha.
and did some admirable comedy
play. The only criticism to be
made IL that Il was evsrdane al times.
NJ. Sealey made manly Valentine, his
efforts at the death scene being par
tieularly deserving. The rest OF the
support vas competent. Mr.. Morrison
appeared before the curtain between
the foaTth aud hth acts, apolcg EinR
for bis inability to make the scenic ef
feota vhat they shoald have been, and
thanking the audience for the hearty
welcome they had accorded him.